LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KTSM) – The Jason Hooten era at New Mexico State will tip off in epic fashion come November.
According to a report from Rocco Miller, the Aggies will open the 2023-24 season on the road at college basketball powerhouse, Kentucky. The game is slated for Monday, Nov. 6 at Rupp Arena, according to Miller.
It’s quite the splash for Hooten and company, who are looking to rebuild the tainted image of the NMSU program after a year of turmoil.
The game will be a rematch of the first round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament, in which Kentucky defeated the Aggies, 82-60.
Elsewhere on the college basketball scheduling front on Thursday, the 2023-24 CUSA scheduling initiative with the WAC was officially announced by the league office.
The Aggie men will visit Stephen F. Austin before playing host to California Baptist later in the season. This will mark the fifth meeting between the Aggies and Lumberjacks and the eighth meeting between NM State and CBU.
Meanwhile, the women’s program will square off with Utah Valley at home before Head Coach Jody Adams leads her squad into Arlington, Texas, to faceoff with UT Arlington. NM State and Utah Valley have met 17 times since first crossing paths in 2006 while the Aggies have faced off with UTA three times in program history.
The UTEP men’s basketball team will play at Abilene Christian and host Seattle U while the Miner women’s basketball squad will venture to California Baptist and welcome defending Western Athletic Conference champion Southern Utah to the Don Haskins Center.
Dates and times for those games will be announced at a later date.
